Youtube announced yesterday that it signed contracts with Hollywood movie studios, allowing the popular video streaming website to upload thousands of movies and TV shows to its content database.
I think this is was an excellent decision on YouTube's part. It was only a few years ago that you couldn't find TV shows and movies online without having to go to illegitimate pirating sites to find them. Now, TV networks are putting current shows online, which is rapidly changing the way Americans watch TV. Don't have time to catch the Real Housewives of New York? Bravo has you covered on their website! Using the internet for TV watching purposes is genius, really. People have busy schedules and don't necessarily have time to watch their favorite shows in the alotted network time slot. Now they have something to do while bored at work! For me at least, I know I use the internet to watch shows I would never actually care to watch or remember to watch on cable. For example, when proscastinating on homework or other tasks, I turn to MTV.com to watch back epsiodes of True Life and The Hills. Movies are not quite as easily accesible online. More often than not, if I am going to watch a movie online, I find it on some random Japanese site. I'm not sure if that's illegal or not, and frankly I really don't want to know. However, with Youtube adding movies and TV shows, I won't have to worry. Youtube is perfectly legal, fairly decent quality, and my computer will be virus free.
Advertisers will benefit from Youtube's new venture as well. Youtube will most likely be adding in quick commercial breaks to the new movies and TV shows it will feature. Even online commercials are better than watching on TV. There is usually only one at a time, and only 30 seconds long. Better yet, ignoring commercials is much easier to do while seated at a computer as opposed to being confined to the couch. I can easily grab a nail file, write a sentence of a paper, or fiddle with my iPod while for waiting for the show to return.
The people behind Youtube are being incredibly smart about their business ventures. Media is moving online, and while many companies are struggling to survive, Youtube is flowing with the current quite smoothly.

art of advertising

I have a love/hate relationship with grocery shopping. I hate shopping for necessities at Jewel, but I love shopping for the extra stuff at Whole Foods. The difference for me is not only in the grocery list, but my experience while at the store. My dad works in advertising, so I have seen firsthand the incredible amount of creative work that goes into the image and brand of a company. If having a pillow fight on a street or sitting on a stoop soliciting reparations for slavery can be considered art, I believe it is safe to say that the concept behind Whole Foods and other specialty stores can be considered art as well.
While Jewel is drab, dirty, and crowded, Whole Foods is colorful and spacious. The salad bar is arranged so that the colors of the vegetables are complementary. Employees are always standing by, ensuring that any visually displeasing mess can be cleaned up before customers take notice. The scary looking antipasto bar at the South Loop Jewel is a far cry from this, and it's no wonder that I've never actually seen anyone buying anything from it.
Whole Foods is bright, spacious, and well-lit. Everything is arranged to be visually appealing, and to make customers want to come back. At Jewel, there is no real need to put any creative effort into their stores. Everyone needs to buys groceries. Whole Foods has to fight to keep customers, and they do so by being as creative as possible in their branding.